Douglas Kmiec is the kind of Catholic voter the GOP usually doesn't have to think twice about. The Pepperdine law professor and former Reagan Justice Department lawyer (Samuel Alito was an office mate) attends Mass each morning. He has actively opposed abortion for most of his adult life, working with crisis pregnancy centers to persuade women not to undergo the procedure. He is a member of the conservative Federalist Society and occasionally sends a contribution to Focus on the Family.

He is also a vocal supporter of Barack Obama. Kmiec made waves in the Catholic world in late March when he endorsed the Democratic candidate. But Kmiec insists that while he still considers himself a Republican, his choice is clear this election year. "I have grave moral doubts about the war, serious doubts about the economic course Republicans have followed over the last seven years, and believe that immigration reforms won't come about by Republican hands," he says. "Senator McCain would not be the strongest advocate for the balance of things that I care about."

A new Time poll of Catholic voters reveals that Kmiec is part of a broader pattern. Although Obama was thought to have a "Catholic problem" during the Democratic primaries, in which Hillary Clinton won a majority of Catholic votes, he has pulled even with John McCain among that constituencyObama now polls 44% to his GOP opponent's 45%.

There are 47 million Catholic voters, and while they are too numerous and varied to speak of as a monolithic Catholic bloc, they have long been a kind of holy grail for presidential candidates.

The winner of eight out of the past nine elections has captured a majority of Catholic votes (they voted for Al Gore in 2000), and there are large Catholic concentrations in key states like Florida, Ohio and New Mexico.

Catholic Ping Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

2
posted on 07/03/2008 7:38:28 AM PDT
by NYer
("Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ." - St. Jerome)

If this fellow supports Mr. Obama, he is committing a mortal sin...because Mr. Obama believes deeply in abortion. In the Roman Catholic faith, committing an abortion, having an abortion or abetting in an abortion is a mortal sin.

Attending Mass doesn’t cut it. Actually believing and putting that belief into practice does. His support of this abortionist, partial-birth abortionist, and botched-abortion-baby-killer negates all of his other empty gestures.

This "bottom-up, personal responsibility" message, as he describes it, appeals to Kmiec, allowing him to be not just a McCain skeptic but also an Obama supporter. That decision has not come without a costthis spring Kmiec was denied Communion by a priest who denounced his endorsement of Obama.

The Obama frauds at Time drag out ONE phony Obama operative in America to peddle a bunch of BS. Obama is a pro abortion and pro partial birth and pro denying medical care to infants surviving abortions . Nothing else needs to be said.No wonder this leftist rag is DYING .

Well I obviously support McCain over Obama, but I don’t think it’s fair to accuse this guy of committing a sin just by voting for a politician who commits a sin. Our system only gives us two choices every election and neither of them is almost ever anywhere even CLOSE to perfect. If moral voters refused to vote for any candidate who supports anything bad we’d all have to stay home.

I guess I’m the opposite of this guy. On balance I find McCain a better choice and abortion is one of the biggest reasons why. But, it’s still true that by voting for McCain I will be voting for somebody who supports some things I don’t support at all. I don’t think that means I’ve changed my opinion about them, just that I’m being practical and picking the choice I think is overall the better of the two.

Who was the priest and where? Amen! A priest with courage!!! This is why the battling the evil of abortion is so hard! Kmeic should say 50 million Our Fathers for the 50 million dead children who have died because of the evil of abortion! God have mercy on this country and it’s people!

16
posted on 07/03/2008 8:04:08 AM PDT
by red irish
(Gods Children in the womb are to be loved too!)

It’s the seriousness of the sin! How long can Christians vote for politicians who support the evil of abortion and let us not forget homosexuality agenda of the democratic party. I do believe there will be a drastic change in being allies with Israel if Obama wins as well. But if Christians can’t go against candidates who support and promote abortion,in all stages and more,then we are nothing more than pagans. 50 million dead children,14 million African American children,yea this is serious sin. Our Savior came from the womb,you would think it would be sacred. But now it is used as a death chamber,but Jesus brought eternal life to all of us through the womb of Mary.

20
posted on 07/03/2008 8:18:56 AM PDT
by red irish
(Gods Children in the womb are to be loved too!)

Well I obviously support McCain over Obama, but I dont think its fair to accuse this guy of committing a sin just by voting for a politician who commits a sin.

Doug Kmiec describes himself as a Mass attending Catholic that believes that he is in communion with the Church. He is publicly supporting a candidate that will do everything it takes to ensure abortion on demand, partial-birth abortion, and the killing of botched abortion babies. This would be formal cooperation in an intrinsic evil, a grave offense. The Church, he supposedly is a member of, attaches the penalty of excommunication for this formal cooperation in the sin of abortion.

Only if you’re truly repentant can you “go to confession quickly” and be forgiven. Something isn’t getting through to this fella no matter how many Masses he attends. I’m thinking that because of his hands on pro-life work, he somehow thinks this gets him off the hook for his voting for a pro-death candidate. Accusing somebody of self-righteousness is a serious charge. But is this person hust another cafeteria Catholic?

Amazing how we can rationalize any of our sticking points (sin) especially when we have someone who has a bullhorn and shouts it in your ear often and loud enough for you to have heard it. (Our Pope) No ambiguity, no gray areas, no confusion here if you stick with the holy father. Until Satan enters the picture and clouds your mind with great rhetorical flourish. Much like some politicians obviously can.

Believe me, I know. I’m a sinner too, and listen to that other voice in my soul. It would just be so much better if people who have a lot of influence like the gentleman in the story understood how much responsiblity (to the Lord) for that influence he has and how much it really affects people around him who respect him. Very confusing to a fellow Catholic who hears him and thinks that he must think the pope is whacked to impugn guilt to him by his vote for someone who pro death. It will influence that person to think the same erroneous thing.

I really wish I understood the thinking process behind the getting to this conclusion. You can’t really say that he was badly catechized if he’s as seemingly faithful as his daily Mass attendance and other works would indicate.

Your prior statement was false. When are you going to ‘fess up to that? Second, what the #@$%^ does this latest comment mean? Really, what kind of knuckle dragger are you? It’s slander after slander from you. Name one politician, either party, any time in our history, who can be said to have “sevred the Pope.” P.S. Just being a Catholic doesn’t count.

Surely you don’t call youself a Christian, what with your ignorant and hateful views.

You don’t have to convince me... I’ve never voted for a politician who supported abortion and I never will. :-) But, I just don’t think with the way our government is set up you can necessarily assume voters agree with every position of a politician. Some voters don’t even get a choice. In some states like California, neither candidate is pro-life, so a pro-life person either has to pick one of them or stay home. You have to take the best you can get sometimes. I don’t know what I’ll do if McCain picks a pro-abortion VP to be honest with you. I sure hope it doesn’t come to that but whether I can bring myself to vote for a ticket like that or not, I still wouldn’t call anybody who finds it in them to vote for them anyway a sinner.

No, no. Not millions. BILLIONS. A tiny minority of priests, abetted by some bad actor Bishops. Paying the money now isn’t to cover it up. These are open agreements to settle pending litigation. A great shame on the Church, but you’re not really suggesting that remaining a Catholic means one “supports child abuse,” are you? I’m beginning to think you’re pulling our legs. No one is this obtuse.

***If he votes for Mr. Obama, he had better get to confession quickly.***

Please allow me to expand on your statement for the edification of anyone who doesn’t understand the rules of Confession. He had better get to confession quickly, and HAVE TRUE REPENTANCE FOR HIS SIN, or his Confession is worthless.

“The truth is that Doug Kmiec does not have a conceptual grasp of what the prolife position actually is. It is not about reducing the number of abortions, though that is certainly a consequence that all prolifers should welcome. Rather, the prolife position is the moral and political belief that all members of the human community are intrinsically valuable and thus are entitled to protection by the state.”

He can always join the Jesuit churches that all the other great Catholics that champion the dem party and their heinous policies like Russert etc... attend. I just want him and his ilk to get the hell out of my Catholic Church.

Catholic conservatives make abortion their #1 issue. They are not nearly concerned as with fiscal conservatism.

They were generally New Dealers. Even on this thread one can see Catholics are most interested in the abortion issue. Of course abortion is an abomination, but socialism is a larger abomination, tearing at the fabric of family which RESULTS in sexual atrocities like abortion, homosexuality, and the welfare state in general.

Socialism is the Catholic weak spot. This is how the Dems will exploit them.

Catholic conservatives make abortion their #1 issue. They are not nearly concerned as with fiscal conservatism.

This is one Catholic Conservative that is both a fiscal and a social conservative.

I am anti-abortion, support the war in the middle east, think taxes are way to high, see the need for people to get training/ education to get off welfare, and if they don't want that then kick them off. I am all in favor of the Second amendment and think that guns are not the problem, but one part of the solution, along with stiff sentences including the death penalty.

Here is the real kicker I teach at a public High school

49
posted on 07/03/2008 10:09:58 AM PDT
by verga
(I am not an apologist, I just play one on Television)

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